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Canada Lags Badly as We Head toward the Digital Future.

Digital disruption is described as the changes that occur when new technologies and businesses models have a negative effect on existing goods and services. Despite some activity, Canada is lagging the rest of the world in companies transforming to take on the challenge.

Technologies Taking HoldA recent example of digital disruption is Uber, the smartphone ride-hailing app. If you're not familiar with the service, you push an icon on your smartphone to order a driver, and the app tells you when a car has accepted the job, when it will arrive and about how much it's going to cost (generally less that a regulated taxi). The drivers are regular folks driving their own cars.

It's no surprise the taxi drivers in cities where Uber has made inroads are unhappy and protesting the service. In Quebec, for example, there has been turmoil, protests and arrests all related to the provincial government's plan for a pilot project where Uber can operate freely until legislators decide what to do.

What Uber is doing to the car industry, Airbnb has done to the hotel industry (people rent out their homes or apartments on a short-term basis at prices lower than hotels charge). Facebook, Amazon and Netflix have also disrupted their respective industries (the most popular media owner creates no content, the world's most valuable retailer owns no outlets and the world's largest movie house operates no cinemas).

Digital DefinitionsTechnically, digital disruption is when new digital technologies and business models affect the value proposition of existing goods and services. Digital transformation is what happens before the disruption or in response, when businesses alter their activities, processes, competencies and models to take advantage of the changes and opportunities of digital technologies.

And because of digital disruption, 78% of business around the globe believes that digital start-ups pose a threat to their organizations and 45% worry that the competition from these up starts may make them obsolete in the next three to five years. These are among the results from Embracing a Digital Future — Transforming to Leap Ahead, a survey performed for Dell Technologies by independent technology market research company Vanson Bourne.

The bad news for Canada? It ranks among the least digitally mature countries, ahead only of China and Japan.

Why? This country faces less digital disruption compared to others — so far (see the box below for a list of some of the many companies disrupting digitally in Canada). A "perfect storm of slow digital adoption and less disruption finds Canada among the bottom three countries in digital maturity," according to Dell.

Looking at the Past and Toward the FutureOnly 35% of Canadian companies have experienced significant industry disruption over the past three years, compared to 52% of companies globally.Additionally, only 48% of Canadian companies have seen new competitors emerge as a result of digital technologies, compared to 62% globally.

According to the survey, 72% of Canadian businesses admit they haven't acted on digital intelligence, compared to 64% globally.

Other, global results from the survey are:

48% of businesses don't know what their industry will look like in three years,

60% can't meet customers' top demands,

73% confess digital transformation could be more widespread in their organizations,

66% are planning to invest in IT infrastructure and digital skills leadership,

72% are planning to expand their software development capabilities, and

52% have experienced significant disruption in their industries over the past three years as a result of digital technologies and the "Internet of Things" (IoT).

Analytics, big data and data processing such as "data lakes," which hold vast amounts of raw data, and

IoT technologies, which encompass networks of connected objects that can collect and exchange data using embedded sensors (think of thermostats, lights and cars that can all be connected to the Internet).

Additionally, 35% of respondents have created full digital profit-and-loss statements, 35% are partnering with start-ups to adopt an open innovation model, and 28% have spun-off a separate part of the organization or intend to acquire the skills and innovation they need through mergers or acquisitions. Just 17% measure success according to the number of patents they file, but nearly half (46%) are integrating digital goals into all department and staff objectives.

What Can Your Business Do?So, digital disruption and transformation is fast becoming the new normal and nothing seems to be able to stop it. If you don't want to be left behind, here are five ways that may help your business create a digital transformation strategy and meet the challenge head on:

Focus on customers. Businesses often view the world through the filters of marketing, sales and maximized revenues. Instead of thinking about business success, target the customer experience. One large hotel chain, for example, uses customer data to discover patterns that help their hotels boost customer service. For instance, the company can combine data it has on flight connections with the buying patterns of it top customers. If one of those customers misses a flight connection, the company will know that. They will also know facts such as he or she has bought martinis, shaken not stirred, and the last three times he or she was at a company property. Consequently, when the customer arrives, regardless of the hour, martinis could be delivered to the room.

Make analytics your friend. Stop thinking of marketing and sales data as simply marketing and sales data. Develop a strategy to access, analyse and use that data. Tap the brains of analysts who can think outside the box of departmental silos in order to combine all types of data, including point of sale, sensors and machines, logs and social streams. Then use that big data to innovate.

One large North American fashion retailer operating in Calgary, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, invests heavily in big data analytics to figure out what products to promote to which customers, when, and by what channel. Apart from the data from its website or point-of-sale data, the company generates data from its likes on Facebook and its followers on Pinterest and Twitter.

The retailer has implemented a cross-channel inventory project that lets customers see in real-time where a product is available and when they can expect to receive it. This company (as well as other large retailers) have integrated online inventory as well as in-store inventory.

Unify your operations. Best-practice organizations assess digital requirements from across the business and then set objectives. Most organizations have multiple teams and departments involved in digital transformation. It's crucial to ensure that all of your business is aligned and operating toward the digital goals you've defined.

Prepare your team in advance by making it clear that the project will require the business to operate without silos. Every department must be treated as relevant and important to the overall goal. It will help if you can name a Chief Digital Officer who can oversee and direct team members across the business.

Think visuals. Digital specialists have defined key performance indicators that extend far beyond revenue. This can include diverse factors such as customer lifetime value and employee satisfaction, as well as a funding model. Decide what visualization format is best for your needs. Data visualization is the ability to see various data in a variety of formats such as charts, graphs or other representations. Infographics often play a role in visualization. If your company has a hard time understanding how data can be used to drive digital transformation, consult an advisor who can help you leverage this critical information.

Be nimble and quick. By the time a project is completed, market and customer requirements have often changed. To avoid this problem, develop digital agility that will let your business embrace operational changes as a matter of routine by using digital technologies. Digital agility is rooted in the concept of learn, launch, re-learn and relaunch.

This lets you consistently experiment and adjust, refining your approach in manageable iterations. Successful firms in the digital age must be agile, including in the way they manage innovation and change.

In your digital transformation, the main goal is to continuously evolve digital strategy based on prior outcomes and feedback. The transformation should give your business the ability to sustain its competitive advantage in the face of challenges now and in the future.

Hiring? These Steps Can Help Your Business Find the Best

Businesses are in a hiring mood.
The Bank of Canada says it's detecting early signs of a "modest" pickup in corporate investment as domestic demand gains strength. The rise in demand follows overall subdued activity over the past two years, the central bank said in its recent Spring Business Outlook Survey.

Separately, Statistics Canada said the labour force added 19,400 jobs in March from February. The number of full-time jobs rose by 18,400 in March while part-time jobs rose by 1,000. Compared to the same month a year ago, jobs rose 1.5%, mostly in full-time work.

In the first quarter of 2017, employment gains totaled 83,000, notably higher than the 36,000 jobs added in the year-earlier quarter.

Compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased by 276,000 (+1.5%), mostly in full-time work. Over the same period, the total number of hours worked rose 0.7%.

The Bank of Canada says it's detecting early signs of a "modest" pickup in corporate investment as domestic demand gains strength. The rise in demand follows overall subdued activity over the past two years, the central bank said in its recent Spring Business Outlook Survey.

Separately, Statistics Canada said the labour force added 19,400 jobs in March from February. The number of full-time jobs rose by 18,400 in March while part-time jobs rose by 1,000. Compared to the same month a year ago, jobs rose 1.5%, mostly in full-time work.

In the first quarter of 2017, employment gains totaled 83,000, notably higher than the 36,000 jobs added in the year-earlier quarter.

Compared with 12 months earlier, employment increased by 276,000 (+1.5%), mostly in full-time work. Over the same period, the total number of hours worked rose 0.7%.

Challenging Process

Although businesses may generally expect to fill vacancies quickly, hiring the right people for the job can be challenging. So here's a broad overview of hiring tips to consider if your company is in the market.

Don't assume the best applicants will be the best employees. Everyone involved in the hiring process should be aware that the best applicant and the best employee aren't always the same. Applicants are simply looking for a job while great employees want a career. Sometimes, candidates who perform best in an interview aren't able to get the job done in the best way.

Match candidates to the job. Know the essential tasks needed to successfully perform a job. That should become the blueprint for the selection process. You should know the critical tasks a candidate needs to perform effectively. Finding the perfect fit is crucial to your business's success.

Moreover, you need to find a person who fits well with your company's personality, or culture. If your business environment is loose-knit and informal, you may not want to hire a person who enjoys working in the formal environment of a stiff-upper-lip publicly traded concern. On the other hand, if you want to hire people to push your business to the next level, you may not want to waste your time interviewing candidates who have spent their careers at mom-and-pop shops.

Make people accountable for their hires. Your company's human resources staff and hiring managers should be made personally accountable for their choices. Consider tracking their success and failure rates. Help those with high failure rates to improve or, if necessary, remove them from the hiring process.

Be Contemporary

Join the 21st Century. Social networking is almost de rigueur for recruiting job candidates. In fact, Facebook recently introduced job postings for businesses in the United States and Canada on its social networking website. Employers will be able to post job vacancies on their pages and allow users to apply through Facebook. LinkedIn is also very popular.

Show what you can offer. When you look to hire someone, don't just focus on what the candidate has to offer. Think about what your company can offer the candidate. By setting the right tone and making your company a place for employee growth and satisfaction, your company will become an attractive place to work.

Vet prospects. Check out candidates before they come in for interviews. Some employers will do the interview process out of order, checking an applicant's references and credentials after the interview. Don't waste time. Vetting candidates ahead of time can speed up the process.

Keep communicating. Assume that other companies are also after the strongest candidates. If you draw out the hiring process — taking too long to make your decision— a competitor could snatch up the candidate. Don't keep people hanging. Make sure to follow-up and give feedback, letting candidates know when you'll be making a decision. By keeping the lines of communication open, the best candidates might be willing to let you know if they have a counteroffer.

Reinvent Your Hiring Process

Traditional interviewing techniques are often a waste of time, according to some experts. Many books and websites provide typical questions and tell applicants the answers that employers want to hear. Meet with candidates who are fully prepared to demonstrate how they would do the jobs. This process has three steps:

Prepare the candidates. Invite prospects to come in and show you how they would tackle jobs. Give them a list of the challenges they may face and encourage them to learn all they can about your business or organization. Be ready to present solutions and strategies.

Prepare yourself. Structure a day's work with real tasks for the candidate you think you want to hire. Pick a few tasks to describe that are a major part of the job and that will make a difference to your business.

Get a demonstration. Let a candidates demonstrate in his or her own way that they can do the job. Can they ride a fast learning curve? Assess their ability and potential to do the work. Then, tap the top performers.

Look Ahead

It's a good idea to anticipate future hiring needs well before there's a critical demand. Develop a pipeline of talented employees. If you know a senior employee leaving soon, start the hiring process now and let the senior person do the training.

This hands-on approach may not work for every job or every company. But in many cases you may find it's worth a try. Discuss the techniques with your human resources department and managers and enlist their help to help find the prospects most likely to succeed in your business environment.

Consider Headhunters

And don't forget the possibility of turning to outside pros. Depending on the position you're filling, it might be worthwhile to look into specialized headhunters. They can speed up the hiring process, find good job candidates, and weed out the less desirable ones, saving you a lot of time sifting through resumes. Also, reach out to your industry peers and mentors for help finding appropriate applicants. And check out the going salary rate for the position so you don't lowball the best job applicants.